One piece wad column and shot cup

ABSTRACT

A one piece shot cup and gas sealing wad column for a shotshell wherein the shot cup is supported upon a transverse disc and has a partially spherically rounded bottom, the cup sidewalls having slits extending into the rounded bottom, and the cup having bridging strips traversing the slits adjacent the bottom of the cup.

United States Patent [1 1 Herter 1*May 28, 1974 ONE PIECE WAD COLUMN ANDSHOT CUP [75] lnventor: George L. Herter, Waseca, Minn.

[73] Assignee: Herters, Inc., Waseca, Minn.

[ 1 Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Mar.27, 1990, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Jan. 17, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 218,231

[52] US. Cl. 102/95, 102/42 C [51] Int. Cl. F42b 7/08 [58] Field ofSearch 102/42 C, 95

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,074,344 l/l963 Devaux102/42 C 3,234,877 2/l966 Herter l02/42 C 3,279,375 l0/l966 Herter3,568,603 3/197] Vartanian 3,669,023 6/1972 Moehlmann 3,722,420 3/1973Herter l02/42 C Primary Examiner-R0bert F. Stahl Attorney, Agent, orFirmWilliamson, Bains & Moore [57] ABSTRACT A one piece shot cup and gassealing wad column for a shotshell wherein the shot cup is supportedupon a transverse disc and has a partially spherically rounded bottom,the cup sidewalls having slits extending into the rounded bottom, andthe cup having bridging strips traversing the slits adjacent the bottomof the cup.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ONE PIECE WAD COLUMN AND SHOT CUP BRIEFSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The one piece shot cup and gas sealing wadcolumn has longitudinal slits in the peripheral wall of the shot cup,thereby defining elongate wall segments between each pair of slits.These wall segments confine the shot in the case and, after firing theshotshell, in the barrel, and prevent deformation of the shot byabrading on the gun barrel wall. When the shot cup and shot exit thebarrel muzzle, the rapidly moving wall segments of the cup will catchthe air and flare out to cause the shot cup and wad column to rapidlydecelerate and separate from the cluster of shot. As a result the shotremains in a tight cluster and stringing out of the shot is prevented.

It is desirable to get the shot cup away from the cluster or column ofshot cleanly and quickly without disturbing the shot column as soon aspossible after exiting the muzzle. Although the entire length of thewall segments should flare out to the side of the wad column to stop thewad column and prevent it from going down range too far, it is notessential that the whole length of all of the wall segments be flaredout to the side immediately for the purpose of decelerating the shot cupand wad column sufficiently to release the shot cluster. The veryflexible forward ends of the cup wall segments should be permitted toflare out instantly after exiting the barrel muzzle to cleanly separatethe cup and wad column from the shot cluster; but it is very importantto prevent any yawing or tilting of the cup and gas sealing wad columnbecause this type of deflection may cause the shot cluster to stringout. Accordingly, the lower portions of the shot cup wall segments ofthe present invention are held together by a bridging strip traversingthe slit at a position upwardly from the lower end of the slit and thelower end of the shot cup. This bridging strip momentarily holds the cupwall segments together as they tend to flare out and then, after a briefmoment, these bridging strips rupture so as to allow the wall segmentsto flare out to their entire length and effect the stopping action of ashot cup and wad column. The spreading of the wall segments is impededso that only the tip ends of the wall segments flare initially andeffectively separate the cup and wad column from the shot cluster andprevent any immediate yawing or tilting of the wad column to preventdisturbing the shot cluster. When the initial separation of the cup andwad column from the cluster occurs, the bridging strips rupture to allowfull flaring of the wall segments and rapid deceleration of the cup andwad column to minimize its travel.

The shot cup of the present invention has a rounded bottom portion whichis supported on a central post,

and a disc, lying transverse to the post and formed integrally thereofand integrally of the cup underlies the bottom of the cup to provide atemporary support for the rounded bottom of the cup at the extreme outerperiphery thereof as the firing of the shotshell occurs and rapidacceleration of the wad column and the initial setback of the shotcluster occur. The longitudinal slits between the wall segments extenddownwardly and partially through the curved lower portion of the cupand, as a result, these slits have a tendency to spread or widen at themoment of firing the shotshell. The bridging strips which traverse theslits tend to hold the slits together at the lower portion of theshotshell and prevent any of the shot from protruding through the slitsand abrading against the barrel wall.

Furthermore, as these bridging strips are preventing the slits betweenthe wall segments from unnecessarily widening, the plastic material inthe bridging strips is worked slightly and some orientation of theplastic occurs as a result so as to strengthen the plastic for thepurpose of holding the wall segments together instantaneously afterexiting the barrel muzzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partlybroken away, of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse section view taken at 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the shot cup and wad column after beingfired from a shotshell and after exiting the barrel muzzle to releasethe cluster of shot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION One form of the invention isillustrated in the drawings and is described herein. The one piece shotcup and gas sealing wad column is indicated in general by numeral 10 andis formed integrally and in one piece as by molding of a resilientlyyieldable and readily deformable plastic material such as polyethylene.The cupportion 11 is disposed forwardly of the wad column portion 12which is oriented forwardly of the gas sealing cup 13. The one piece cupand wad column 10 is positioned in a shotshell case so that the powderseal cup 13 overlies the powder charge in the shotshell, and the cupportion 11 will contain the shot charge. The forward end of the cup 11will extend into close proximity with the front closure of the shotshellcase so as to confine substantially the entire shot charge in the case.

The cup 11 has a rounded bottom 14, and a sidewall 15 which has aplurality of elongate slits 16 formed therein so as to define in thesidewall 15, a plurality of elongate and slightly spaced wall segments15.1, 15.2, 15.3 and 15.4. These slits 16 are substantially closed whenthe cup and wad column 10 is confined within the shotshell case so thatnone of the shot will be able to pass through the slits l6 and engagethe inside wall of the gun barrel. The relaxed shape of the wallsegments is substantially as shown in FIG. 1 wherein the wall segmentsare flared slightly toward the open end of the cup 1 1. When the onepiece cup and wad column 10 is confined in a shotshell case, thesegments of the wall 15 lie flush against and parallel to thesubstantially cylindrical shotshell case.

The bottom portion 17 of the cup 11 is rounded to have a partiallyspherical shape, and the lower end portions of the wall segments 15.115.4 are curved both inwardly and circumferentially to define thisbottom portion 17 of the cup. The cup 1 l rests upon a substantiallyflat disc 18 which forms a part of the wad column 12. The disc 18 isformed integrally and in one piece with the cup 11 and the cup 11 joinsthe disc 18 near the central area of the disc. The marginal portions ofthe disc 18 are spaced from the cup 11, but do tend to give support tothe cup at the instant of firing of the shotshell, and as the wallsegments 15.1 15.4 are deformed due to' the rapid acceleration of thewad column and the inertia of the shot charge within the cup 11 whichcombine to tend to deform the lower portions of the wall segments 15.115.4 and cause these wall segments to bear downwardly or rearwardlyagainst substantially the entire upper face of the disc 18.

It will be noted that the slits 16 in the cup sidewall 15 extend downinto the curved lower portion 17 of the cup.

The adjacent wall segments 15.1 15.4 are interconnected across the slits16 by a plurality of bridging strips 19 which are molded integrally ofthe adjacent wall segments. The bridging strips 19 are slightlyyieldable and deformable when subjected to tension forces by theadjacent wall segments, but the bridging strips 19 are also readilyrupturable so as to permit the wall segments 15.1 15.4 to flareoutwardly to the maximum extent, somewhat as illustrated in FIG. 3 as tocause the one piece cup and wad column 10 to rapidly decelerate and beprevented from traveling excessively down range with the shot afterexiting the muzzle of the gun barrel.

The wad column also includes a central post structure l9 and a secondstabilizing disc 20 which will guide along the wall of the shotshellcase and along the gun barrel to prevent collapsing or bending or bowingof the post 19. The powder seal cup 13 has a skirt 21 which will flareslightly outwardly and seal tightly against the peripheral wall of theshotshell case and against the wall of the barrel as the unit 10 isejected with the shot charge upon firing the shotshell in a shotgun.

in the use of the one piece cup and wad column 10, the sealing cup 13will overlie the powder charge in the shotshell case, and the cup 11will confine the shot charge in the case. When the shotshell is fired bydetonating the primer which ignites the powder charge, the sealing cup13 is impelled forwardly under great force against the inertia of theshot charge confined in the cup and the closure of the shotshell. Theclosure, such as a star crimp, of the shotshell will immediately openand the sidewall 15 of the shot cup 11 is immediately deformed as theshot charge confined therein is set into motion. The lower portions ofthe wall segments 15.1 15.4 will effectively set back against the disc18, and of course this set-back tends to stretch the bridging strips 19.The width of slits 16 remains sufficiently small as to prevent escape orprotrusion of any shot pellets through the slits 16 against the barrelwall and, as a result, none of the shot pellets will be abraded by themovement of the shot charge and unit 10 along the gun barrel.

The powder charge will continue to burn at least until the shot chargeand the unit 10 exits the muzzle of the barrel, whereupon the naturalresiliency of the wall segments 15.1 15.4 which have, until this instantof emergence from the barrel muzzle, been confined into a substantiallycylindrical shape, together with the pressure exerted thereagainst bythe shot charge being rapidly accelerated in the gun barrel,cooperatively causes the wall segments 15.1 15.4 to flare at theirforward ends. Because of this flaring of the forward ends of the wallsegments, they will be caught in the extremely turbulent sheer layer ofair between the very rapidly moving shot charge and the stationary airspaced slightly transversely therefrom. The result is that the one piececup and wad column 10 is immediately slowed sufficiently to release thecup 11 from the shot charge C, somewhat in the manner illustrated inFIG. 3. This release of the shot charge C from the cup 11 occurs beforethere can be any yawing or tilting of the wad column 12 and sealing base13, and, as a result, there is no distortion of the highly compact shotcharge C. After the release of the shot charge C has already occurred,the wall segments 15.1 15.4 flare outwardly and apply additional tensionto the bridging strips 19 which have heretofore held the wall segmentstogether, and the bridging strips 19 will rupture and permit the wallsegments to flare to their maximum extent as illustrated in FIG. 3. As aresult, the one piece cup and wad column 10 will be rapidly deceleratedand will not travel down range more than a minimum extent.

it will be seen that l have provided a new and novel one piece shot cupand wad column wherein the shot cup wall is formed of a plurality ofadjacent wall segments which have a natural flared set, but which areconfined to define a generally cylindrical cup in the shotshell case andgun barrel during travel of the one piece cup and wad column and shotcharge along the barrel; the wall segments are interconnected bybridging strips which restrain the wall segments against instantaneousfull flare upon emergence from the muzzle of the gun barrel but permitthe forward ends of the wall segments to flare immediately and releasethe shot charge from the cup and wall segments, after which the bridgingstrips between the wall segments will rupture under influence of theflaring wall segments so that the wall segments are permitted to flareto their fullest extent to rapidly decelerate the one piece shot cup andwad column and prevent it from traveling excessively down range.

What is claimed is:

1. A one piece shot cup and wad column for a shotshell, comprising:

a yieldable plastic shot cup to be inserted into the case of a shotshellto hold the shot charge, the cup having a bottom portion which isspheroidally rounded, and the cup having a plurality of longitudinallyextending slits through the sidewall of the cup extending throughsubstantially the entirelength of the cup from the open end thereof toand along the rounded bottom portion of the cup, the bottom ends of saidslits thereby being arcuate in longitudinal extent, and said slitsdividing the cup sidewall into a plurality of elongate and flexible wallsegments having inwardly curved lower ends and flexible outer ends toflare outwardly to decelerate the cup upon exiting the barrel muzzlewith a shot charge and to thereby immediately separate from the shotcharge, and the cup having a plurality of bridging strips each disposedadjacent the bottom of the cup and extending across a respective slitintermediate its ends with open portions of each slit extendinglongitudinally of the cup on both sides of each bridging strip towardsboth the open end and the rounded bottom end of the cup, andinterconnecting only the adjacent curved lower ends of the wall segmentsalong a relatively short, limited portion of their lengths to retain thesame against immediate full flaring of the shot cup from a gun barrelupon emergence and producing a delay in such full flaring until the shotcharge has been released by the flaring forward ends of the wallsegments, and

means defining a sealing base, and a wad column between said base andthe bottom of the cup.

2. The one piece shot cup and wad column according to claim 1 and saidwad column including a disc extending transversely thereof andunderlying the rounded bottom of the cup in immediate, supportingjuxtaposition thereto and having a diameter exceeding the diameter ofthe adjacent rounded bottom of the cup to thereby support the roundedlower ends of the wall segments during set-back upon initial firing ofthe shotshell and rapid acceleration of the one piece shot cup and wadcolumn together with the shot charge.

3. A one piece shot cup and wad column for a shotshell, comprising:

a yieldable plastic shot cup to be inserted into the case of a shotshellto hold the shot charge, the cup having a plurality of longitudinallyextending slits through the sidewall of the cup and extending throughsubstantially the entire length of the cup from the open end to thebottom of the cup and dividing the cup sidewall into a plurality ofelongate and flexible wall segments, said cup having a rounded,spheroidal bottom end and said wall segments flaring upwardly andoutwardly from the junction points of their bottom ends with saidrounded bottom end of said cup in a natural, outwardly flaring set, andsaid wall segments being flexible inwardly to cooperatively define asubstantially cylindrical cup sidewall within the shotshell case toconfine the shot charge therein, said wall segments resiliently movingtoward the flared set immediately upon exiting the muzzle of the gunbarrel with the shot charge to release the shot charge and immediatelybe caught in the extremely turbulent sheer layer of air between therapidly moving shot charge and the stationary atmospheric air adjacentthereto to be immediately flared outwardly to cause deceleration, thecup having a plurality of bridging strips each disposed adjacent thebottom of the cup and extending across a respective slit intermediateits ends with open portions of each slit extending longitudinally of thecup on both sides of each bridging strip towards both the open end andthe rounded bottom end of the cup, and each of the stripsinterconnecting the adjacent edges of the wall segments to retain thesame against immediate full flaring and producing a delay in such fullflaring subsequent to exiting the barrel muzzle, and

means defining a sealing base, and a wad column between the base andcup.

1. A one piece shot cup and wad column for a shotshell, comprising: ayieldable plastic shot cup to be inserted into the case of a shotshellto hold the shot charge, the cup having a bottom portion which isspheroidally rounded, and the cup having a plurality of longitudinallyextending slits through the sidewall of the cup extending throughsubstantially the entire length of the cup from the open end thereof toand along the rounded bottom portion of the cup, the bottom ends of saidslits thereby being arcuate in longitudinal extent, and said slitsdividing the cup sidewall into a plurality of elongate and flexible wallsegments having inwardly curved lower ends and flexible outer ends toflare outwardly to decelerate the cup upon exiting the barrel muzzlewith a shot charge and to thereby immediately separate from the shotcharge, and the cup having a plurality of bridging strips each disposedadjacent the bottom of the cup and extending across a respective slitintermediate its ends with open portions of each slit extendinglongitudinally of the cup on both sides of each bridging strip towardsboth the open end and the rounded bottom end of the cup, andinterconnecting only the adjacent curved lower ends of the wall segmentsalong a relatively short, limited portion of their lengths to retain thesame against immediate full flaring of the shot cup from a gun barrelupon emergence and producing a delay in such full flaring until the shotcharge has been released by the flaring forward ends of the wallsegments, and means defining a sealing base, and a wad column betweensaid base and the bottom of the cup.
 2. The one piece shot cup and wadcolumn according to claim 1 and said wad column including a discextending transversely thereof and underlying the rounded bottom of thecup in immediate, supporting juxtaposition thereto and having a diameterexceeding the diameter of the adjacent rounded bottom of the cup tothereby support the rounded lower ends of the wall segments duringset-back upon initial firing of the shotshell and rapid acceleration ofthe one piece shot cup and wad column together with the shot charge. 3.A one piece shot cup and wad column for a shotshell, comprising: ayieldable plastic shot cup to be inserted into the case of a shotshellto hold the shot charge, the cup having a plurality of longitudinallyextending slits through the sidewall of the cup and extending throughsubstantially the entire length of the cup from the open end to thebottom of the cup and dividing the cup sidewall into a plurality ofelongate and flexible wall segments, said cup having a rounded,spheroidal bottom end and said wall segments flaring upwardly andoutwardly from the junction points of their bottom ends with saidrounded bottom end of said cup in a natural, outwardly flaring set, andsaid wall segments being flexible inwardly to cooperatively define asubstantially cylindrical cup sidewall within the shotshell case toconfine the shot charge therein, said wall segments resiliently movingtoward the flared set immediately upon exiting the muzzle of the gunbarrel with the shot charge to release the shot charge and immediatelybe caught in the extremely turbulent sheer layer of air beTween therapidly moving shot charge and the stationary atmospheric air adjacentthereto to be immediately flared outwardly to cause deceleration, thecup having a plurality of bridging strips each disposed adjacent thebottom of the cup and extending across a respective slit intermediateits ends with open portions of each slit extending longitudinally of thecup on both sides of each bridging strip towards both the open end andthe rounded bottom end of the cup, and each of the stripsinterconnecting the adjacent edges of the wall segments to retain thesame against immediate full flaring and producing a delay in such fullflaring subsequent to exiting the barrel muzzle, and means defining asealing base, and a wad column between the base and cup.